Canon 40D vs Sony A850

Its time to look a bit more closely at the Canon 40D and Sony A850, both Advanced DSLR digital cameras by brands Canon and Sony. There exists a sizeable gap between the resolutions of the 40D (10MP) and A850 (25MP) and the 40D (APS-C) and A850 (Full frame) enjoy different sensor dimensions.

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The 40D was unveiled 3 years prior to the A850 and that is quite a large gap as far as technology is concerned. Both cameras offer the identical body type (Mid-size SLR).

Before delving straight into a full comparison, below is a simple view of how the 40D scores versus the A850 in terms of portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

This is a preview of the gallery photos for Canon EOS 40D and Sony Alpha DSLR-A850. The full galleries are provided at Canon 40D Gallery and Sony A850 Gallery.

For anybody who is looking to lug around your camera frequently, you should factor in its weight and volume. The Canon 40D offers outside measurements of 146mm x 108mm x 74mm (5.7" x 4.3" x 2.9") along with a weight of 822 grams (1.81 lbs) whilst the Sony A850 has sizing of 156mm x 117mm x 82mm (6.1" x 4.6" x 3.2") and a weight of 895 grams (1.97 lbs).

See the Canon 40D and Sony A850 in the new Camera and Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Keep in mind, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will differ dependant on the lens you are using during that time. Below is the front view dimension comparison of the 40D compared to the A850.

Considering dimensions and weight, the portability score of the 40D and A850 is 57 and 54 respectively.

Sometimes, it is tough to imagine the difference between sensor measurements just by reading through technical specs. The visual below may give you a much better sense of the sensor measurements in the 40D and A850.

As you can tell, each of these cameras offer different resolutions and different sensor measurements. The 40D having a tinier sensor is going to make getting bokeh more challenging and the Sony A850 will give you more detail having an extra 15MP. Higher resolution will enable you to crop pictures a little more aggressively. The older 40D is going to be disadvantaged when it comes to sensor innovation.